Valves are generally defined as components that are used for shutting off or regulating the flow of fluids (liquids and gases). For this purpose the flow is interrupted or reduced using a closing member, the valve body, such that the closing member totally or partially closes the opening through which the fluid flows. Therefore, such valves are suitable not only for shutting off material flows, but also for controlling fluid flows.
In most valves the opening and closing takes place by a movement of the valve body inside a valve housing. In this context US 2009/0229671 A1 discloses a disposable connector, which is designed for the sterile transfer of fluids and in which the movement of the valve body is selectively guided and limited. This type of guided movement is known from so-called bayonet locks. For this purpose a kind of nub, cone or pin is moved in a guide slot or a guide groove in order to open and close the valve. As a result, a rotational motion is associated with a movement in the axial direction. In this case the nubs are used for both the guided movement as well as for the fixation of the valve body inside the valve housing.
EP 2292297 A1 discloses a valve, which in the closed state is connected to the valve body by a mandrel on the valve housing. Thus, the mandrel is used as an additional safeguard in order to hold the valve in the closed state. Similar to US 2009/0229671 A1, the valve, according to EP 2292297 A1, is moved in a guided manner between the closed and the opened state with a type of bayonet lock.
Depending on the use of the valve, however, different demands are made of the functional parameters. In the case of the passage valves described above, it may happen that when the valve body is subjected axially to an excessive amount of pressure, the valve body is pressed out of the valve housing despite the guide nubs. Moreover, many bayonet guides, especially if they are operated by hand, do not allow a single flowing movement, since the valve body is moved inside the valve housing with a complicated process of rotating and pulling at the valve outlet.